Jasmin Tse
Living in a bustling city like Singapore, one always seems to be on the go. There are so many friends, acquaintances and visitors to entertain. In our modern and efficient world, we like to keep up to date with one another and if we’re not meeting up for coffee/lunch/dinner/drinks, then we’re texting or looking at one another’s fabulous lives on social media. It’s hard to keep up with the excitement of the lives of those around us and at times, it may even seem to be exhausting to do so in our bustling connected world. Social media may even cause us to lose ourselves at times as we try to present the best version of our own lives for our fellow voyeur friends. This is the new standard of “keeping up with the Jones”. I don’t know about you, but I’ve certainly never posted a glamorous photo of myself scrubbing the toilet as part of my daily life!
The American pop artist Andy Warhol once said, “You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you.” Indeed if you look at what he often painted, you’ll notice that he picked the most simple and ordinary things as his subject. When asked why he painted the can of Campbell’s soup for example, he simply replied that it was because he liked the soup. In other words, he found joy in an ordinary common can of soup and that turn became something bright and iconic, reflecting his thrill for the simple.
Whenever we think of taking time out for yourselves, we often feel the need to travel and go to the hairdressers, or to a spa, or get our nails done. Even “me time” can seem to be a busy schedule of pampering things to do. A couple of weeks ago, I had an unexpected pleasure of being at home with absolutely no one around from early morning until early evening. I decided to watch a bit telly but as I did so, I felt that I should also be busy tidying up. A friend happened to text me and she, upon finding out that I had this precious and rare time completely alone, sternly told me to not tidy up and put my feet up for one day and just watch TV. I put aside my guilt for not being busy, and did just that. I did not go out to shops to pick up some groceries or various other errands which could easily be conjured up in my mind but instead, watched TV, heated up some leftover soup (leftovers can actually be a treat when you want to do nothing), watched a bit more TV, played some games – a guilty but childish pleasure of mine; and then decided to spend more time on my current hobby of baking by prepping cookie dough so that I could bake fresh cookies later for the family. There is something very satisfying about the smell of freshly baked, sweet chocolaty cookies lingering in the air and the anticipation of this warm crusty, yet chewy mound was as much a treat for me as anyone else.
British poet and novelist Oscar Wilde had this to say, “I admire simple pleasures.They are the last refuge of the complex.”This “day for me” was just that – a refuge from my usual busy life of juggling schedules and just being busy.I played with my dogs, admiring their gleaming eyes.I took the time to sit down with a cup of coffee and read a book undisturbed.No, it wasn’t a particularly instagramable day.It certainly didn’t seem like a productive day and yet it was very productive because I allowed myself to just be me.I was sloppy, geeky me and I enjoyed my own uncomplicated company and was completely refreshed for when the family returned home.
We often overlook the small things in life but we all need to take some time out just to be ourselves. Me time can simply be just looking up into the sky admiring the stars and wondering about our small size in the universe. If coffee and reading are not your forté, how about just sitting down and being – enjoying the cool weather, the sound of birds, the smell of the rain? You can be as complex or as simple as you want to be with your time to be but most importantly rediscover who you are and keep on looking for the simple everyday pleasures in your life. Oh, and did I mention the cookies….?
